Air-coupling



C. R. SCHRADER. AIR COUPLING.

I I APPLICATION FILED JAN-11% l l 1,326,293.. Patented Dec. 30,1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET I- W, K r

0 zaj 56 24 17 //v VENTOI? A fro/mus C. R. SCHRADER. AIR COUPLING.

APPLICATION man JAN. 13. 1919.

Patented Dec. 30,1919.

SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR Carijfi 6 c/iaaeir stars CARL RAYMOND scnnannn, or PULAs'KI, VIRGINIA.

AIR-COUPLING;

Application filed January 13, 1919':

of: Pulaski, in the county of Pulaski and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Alf-COLL pli'ngs, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My present invention relates particularly to air couplers adapted for, and capable of, automatic action, especially in the coupling of railway cars, and constructed so as to not only do away with air hose-between cars, but to efiect' an automatic venting of the train pipe in caseof wreck, derailment, or any other cases of accidental disconnection of the couplers.

Themain object of my invention is therefore the promotion of safety both to the general traveling public and train men, althoughtheinvention includes other objects as-well as features which admit the coupling of carson curves and generally promote a highly efiect'ive and efficient device as hereinafter described.

In the accompanying. drawings forming a part of this specification and illustrating my invention,

Figure 1 is a side View illustrating the practical application of my invention,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of two couplers in engaged relation,

Fig 3 is a vertical longitudinal section through the couplers of Fig; 2,

Fig. 4 is-a horizontal'section through the couplers of Fig. 2,

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are. vertical transverse sections'enlarged and taken respectively. on

lines 5-5, 66, and 77 of Fig. 2.

Fig.8 is a detailperspective view of one end of one of the coupler heads, V

Fig. 9 is a vertical section through certain of the air connections,

Fig.10 is a detail side view'of the connecting bufi'ers.

Refer-ring now to these figures, my invention proposes a coupler having. ahead 10 provided at its forward end with upper and lower forwardly projecting similarly shaped and reduced extensions 11 and 12, the precise shape of which is most plainly to be seen in Fig. 8,'the outer side faces of the extensions 11 and 12 being parallel with the adjacent side of=the head 10, and the inner side faces thereof being inclined as shown so that the extensions taper from the adjacent end of Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 30, 1919.

seriarno. 270,913.

the head to points well removed beyond the head. Between the extensions 11 and 12 the head 10 is provided at' the same side with a slotted opening 13 and at its opposite side it has upper and lower slots 14 in the horizontal plane of the extensions" 11 and 12, and a tapering end eXtension 15 in the plane of the before mentioned slot 13. Thus, two complementary coupler heads constructed and described will come together, thcextension 15- of each projecting within the slot 13 of the other, and the extensions 11 and 12 of each projecting within the slots 14 of the other.

It will be noted from Fig. 8, that the inner portion of the extension 15 is cut away on an angle slightly greater than a right angle with respect to the inner slotted face of said extension, as will be" seen by reference to Fig. 4, and the angular surface so formed is provided with a longitudinally concaved channel 16, and with upper and lower grooves 17-,-the channels 16 of complemeir tary coupler heads cooperating to form openings as seen in Fig. 4, when'the couplers are closed, for the reception of the inner enlarged buffers 18 of Fig. 10 located at-the inner endsof the air pipes 19, the latter of which project rearwardly through angular bores in the heads 10 topoints on the oneside of the rear portion of said heads.

Leaving the air connections to be described later, and proceeding with the general structure of the coupler, the head- 10 of each coupler has at its rear end a reduced eXtGllSlOIl 20 provlded with a rounded SlClta" wallas seen lll'Flg. 4, and upper and lower flat surfaces as seenin F1g.2, said extenslon being. arranged to movably interfit a conformably shaped opening. 21 in the forward end of a draw bar 22 having rearwardly projecting. extensions 23- 1novable through in a supporting erally in a horizontal plane by virtue of its connection with the draw bar 22 within the forward opening of which the reduced extension 20 of the head 10 is normally held by a lower slide plate 29 having longitudinal side ribs 30 which slide in grooves 31 of the draw bar 22, as seen by a comparison of Figs. 6 and 7. By sliding plate 29 rearwardly in the grooves 31 the extension 20 of the coupler 10 may be removed vertically in a downwarddirection for repairs or other purposes, the head being normally retained in the position shown by the disposition of the slide plate 29 beneath 6Xt611S1011'20,Wl161G it is normally locked or secured by means of a shackle 32 as seen in Fig. 2.

The above described movements and structure of each of the coupler heads and its supporting parts suflice to permit of ready efficient coupling of the heads on considerable degrees of curvature, at least as great as that permitted by the ordinary car couplers beneath which the air couplers come together.

The bufier members 18 at the inner ends of the air pipes 19 within the coupler heads 10 as seen in Figs. 4 and 10 in particular, and as previously described, have gaskets or washers 33 secured thereto, arranged to come into contact with one another when complementary heads are connected as in Fig. 4 so as to form a non-locking joint, and these buffer members are pressed firmly and evenly into engagement with one another by virtue of the fact that the pipes 19 are tensioned by means of springs 34 coiled therearound between the buffer members 18 and the inner ends of the channels 16 of the heads, the bufi'er members 18 having extensions 35 which work within the grooves 17 internally of the heads and prevent lateral displacement with respect to one another, or turning movement.

The rear ends of the pipes 19, projecting beyond relatively opposite sides of the heads 10 as seen in Fig. 4, are each connected to a vertical pipe section 36, as best seen in Figs. 2 and 9, in turn connected by a ball joint 37 at the lower end thereof with a universal jointed pipe 38 similarly jointed at its rear end 39 with the train pipe 40. The vertical pipe section 36 has a valve 41, the lever 42 of which is pivotally connected to one end of a link 43, the opposite end of which is pivotally connected to the coupler head, so that when the pipe 19 moves for- I wardly under tension of its spring 34 to its forward limit of travel, the vertical pipe 36-will be shifted forwardly toward the coupler head and link 43 will force-valve lever 42 upwardly so as to close the valve and cut olf connection between the train pipe 40 and the coupler pipe 19.

It is to be understood that when the buffer members 18 come into contact when the couplers are closed as in Fig. 4, the two coupler pipes 19 are forced rearwardly against the tension of their springs 34 so that the valves 41 are opened and communication between the two train pipes thus established through the coupler pipes 19. Thus when the couplers are to be disconnected, as when the car couplers between cars are unlocked preparatory to moving one car with respect to the other, and the heads 10 brought apart, inward movement of the pipes 19 will close the valves 41 as previously described so as to thus prevent the train pipes from being vented. It is possible on the other hand to normally control the parts so that in case of accidental displacement of the coupler heads, the pipes 19 may be prevented from inward movement to close valves 41 and to this end each of the coupler heads may have an intermediately fulcrumed side lever 44, the rear end of which supports a wedge block 45 by means of a pendent chain 46, the wedge block 45 being curved to fit a portion of the contour of pipe 19 between the vertical pipe 36 and the adjacent portion of the head 10, the lever 44 maintaining the wedge block in operative position in connection with pipe 19 as seen in Fig. 2 under normal circumstances. I have shown only one of the coupler heads as provided with the lever 44'and the wedge block 45, but it is to be understood that in practice both the complementary coupler heads may have these connections if so desired. The lever 44 may be controlled by a second lever 47 pivoted upon the upper portion of the coupler head, one end of which engages the free end of lever 44 and the other end of which is connected with a chain 48 leading to a suitable point so that in case of accidental uncoupling lever 44 may be rocked upon its fulcrum to lift the wedge block 45 from active position, and permit forward or inward movement of the pipes 19 as previ ously described.

It is obvious from the foregoing that my invention provides a highly efi'ective and elhcient apparatus of the present character which will entirely do away with connecting hose, which will. provide for automatic coupling, thus avoiding the necessity of train men coming between cars, which will promote safety in behalf of the general traveling public, and which will act in case of accidental uncoupling, to vent the train pipes and apply the brakes.

I claim:

1. A coupler head for air couplers having spaced superposed projections leading from its forward end adjacent one side, and provided with a single side recess extending inwardly from said end between the said projections, said head having a single projection extending from its front end adjacent its opposite side in a horizontal plane of the said recess and having a pair of recesses respectively above and below the last mentioned projection and located in the horizontal plane of the first mentioned projections, as described.

2. A coupler head for air couplers having projections extending from the forward end thereof for connection with a companion head and provided with achannel along the inner portion of certain of said projections, a coupler pipe shiftable in the direction of its length angularly through the head along a line parallel with the said channel, and

having a buffer member at'the inner end and jointed air pipes connected with therear end of the coupler pipe exteriorly of the head, including a pipe section having a valve connection between the valve and the said head whereby to close the valve when the coupler head moves forwardly in the head and open the valve when it is moved rearwardly in the head, as described.

4. A coupler head for air couplers having projections extending from the forward end thereof for connection with a companion head and provided with a channel along the inner portion of certain of said projections, a coupler pipe shiftable in the direction of its length angularly through the head along a line parallel with the said channel, and having a buffer member at the inner end thereof disposed andmovable in the channel, and jointed air pipes connected with the rear end of the coupler pipe exteriorly of the head, including a pipe section having a valve, and jointed levers between the valve and a portion of the coupler head for the purpose described.

5. A coupler head for air couplers having engaging means at its forward end and provided with an inner inclined channel and an angularly disposed coupler pipe movable in the direction of its length angularl through the coupler head and provided with a buffer movable in the said channel, a series of jointed pipes connecting the outer end of said coupler pipe with the train pipe and including a vertical section at the rear end of the coupler pipe having a cut-0E valve therein, pivoted levers connecting the said valve with the coupler head, a spring engaging the coupler pipe to normally move the same with its buffer member in a forward direction, and a wedge block for engagement upon the rear portion of the coupler pipe between the said vertical pipe section andthe coupler head, to prevent forward movement of the coupler pipe, as described.

6. A coupler head for air couplers having engaging means at its forward end and provided with an inner inclined channel and an angularly disposed coupler pipe movable in the direction of its length angularly through the coupler head and provided with a buffer movable in the said channel, a series of jointed pipes connecting the outer end of said coupler pipe with the train pipe and including a vertical section at the rear end of the coupler pipe having a cut-off valve therein, pivoted levers connecting the said valve with the coupler head, a spring engaging the coupler pipe to normally move the same with its buffer member in a forward direction, wand a wedge block for engagement upon the rear portion of the coupler pipe between the said vertical pipe section and the coupler head, to prevent forward movement of the coupler pipe, as described, and a lever fulcrumed on the coupler head and upon which the said wedge block is flexibly supported for movement into and out of active position.

7 A coupler head for air couplers having coupling means at the forward end thereof, a coupler pipe shiftable in the direction of its length angularly through the coupler 100 head, a spring engaging the said pipe to normally move the same 111 a forward direction,

a series of jointed connecting pipes leading from the rear end of the said coupler pipe externally of the head for connecting the 105 same with a train pipe, and including a section having a valve, and levers connecting the valve with the coupler head so as to open and close the same under control of movement of the coupler pipe.

8. A coupler head for air couplers having coupling means at the forward end thereof and having an extension at its rear end, the side of which is rounded and the upper and lower faces of which are flat, and a spring 115 controlled draw bar having a recess conformable to the shape of, and within which is disposed, the said extension, whereby to permit the head to swing laterally with respect to the draw bar.

9. A coupler head for air couplers having coupling means at the forward end thereof and having an extension at its rear end, the side of which is rounded and the upper and lower faces of which are flat, and a spring 125 controlled draw bar having a recess conformable to the shape of, and within which is disposed, the said extension, whereby to permit the head to swing laterally with respect to the draw bar, said draw bar having 130 the lower portion of its recess open, and movable means normally covering the said open end of the recess to permit of removal of the coupler head.

. 10. A coupler head for air couplers having coupling means at the forward end thereof and having an extension at its rear end, the side of which is rounded and the upper and lower faces of which are flat, and a spring controlled draw bar having a recess conformable to the shape of, and within which is disposed, the said extension, Whereby to permit the head to swing laterally with respect to the draw bar, said draw bar CARL RAYMOND SCHRADER.

W'itnesses:

B. BLOGKSIDGE, W. H. TROLINGER. 

